Judge Ruled ICE Unlawfully Detained the Asylum-Seeking Community Member in February
Vermont Business Magazine Steven Tendo, a Vermont resident who was detained last month and then released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody after a judge ruled in his favor, will remain in the community.
On Feb. 4, Tendo was detained, and later Judge Joseph N. Laplante ruled that ICE failed to comply with Dept. of Homeland Security regulations — making his arrest unlawful. He was released on Feb. 20, more than two weeks after being detained.
Following an ICE check-in today, Tendo was not taken into custody — he has been fighting for asylum in the United States since arriving in the country in 2018 as a refugee from Uganda.
He has been a strong member of the Vermont community since 2021, at the same time fighting against deportation to the country where he suffered significant torture at the hands of Ugandan security services.
Tendo is represented by Vermont Law and Graduate School’s Center for Justice Reform Clinic — namely Center Director Brett Stokes and Visiting Professor Christopher Worth, along with student clinicians Youcef Adjiri and Chloe Napotnik.
“Steven appeared at his ICE check-in today with multiple forms of relief pending before the Board of Immigration Appeals and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Steven has no criminal record and works every day to serve our community as a pastor and nursing assistant,” Worth said Friday. “ICE declined to take Steven into custody. His next check-in is April 20. We are hopeful that, at that time, ICE will approve Steven’s request for a one-year stay and schedule his following check-in for April 2027, allowing the BIA and USCIS ample time to adjudicate the applications for relief.”
Vermont Law and Graduate School, a private, independent institution, is home to a law school that offers ABA-accredited residential and online hybrid JD programs and a graduate school that offers master’s degrees and certificates in multiple disciplines, including programs offered by the Maverick Lloyd School for the Environment, the Center for Justice Reform and other graduate-level programs emphasizing the intersection of environmental justice, social justice and public policy. Both the law and graduate schools strongly feature experiential clinical and field work learning. For more information, visit vermontlaw.edu, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.
SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. (March 20, 2026) — VLGS
To support vital journalism, access our archives and get unique features like our award-winning profiles, Book of Lists & Business-to-Business Directory, subscribe HERE!
